It was like a spoof of action movies, but I think they wanted us to take it seriously...

Click to expand...

I enjoyed the movie but the flag flying at the end almost made me laugh outloud. It was like in the last 10 seconds, the movie decided it wanted to be a tribute to America and the people who serve her. When they did the same thing at the end of Saving Private Ryan, I found that to be beautiful and fitting but when you do it at the end of this movie, it just comes off as laughable.

At least "LAH" didn't make an Oscar-winning actress shout the Pledge of Allegiance while being led to her possible doom!

Click to expand...

I saw that as the movie portraying a no-nonsense woman who was just as tough as the men and wouldn't back down (unless ordered, which she was earlier). It was certainly a RAH RAH America! moment, but I think it worked in the context of what came before.

I also loved the scene where the bad guys used the super-high-tech weapon to shoot down the helicopters and the pilots just flew around in circles for a while. Why not go UP? Why not move away? Did they really have to wait for the acting president to finally say "retreat"?

Oh, that was there to make a point and provide some action, nothing else. Clegg was trying to shut Banning down, which didn't work, and that whole scene served to show the "suits" were out of touch and should just be quiet. It didn't make a lot of sense, granted, but it was a "get behind Gerard Butler" moment.

Reviewer

I think you have to judge a bit on a curve. I went in expecting a popcorn flick. Is it at all plausible that North Korea could smuggle major truckloads of weapons into DC right now? No, not really. Would the helicopters have bugged out? Yes (though the idea they would have gone up wouldn't help them in the light of that fire, and they couldn't have went too far with the door ways open unless they just wanted to topple guys out).

The whole thing is pretty ridiculous, but it doesn't stop it from being at least somewhat entertaining. In comparison, the most recent die hard was ridiculous and not very entertaining. Heck, the most recent batman was incredibly ridiculous, but still entertaining.

I think you have to judge a bit on a curve. I went in expecting a popcorn flick. Is it at all plausible that North Korea could smuggle major truckloads of weapons into DC right now? No, not really. Would the helicopters have bugged out? Yes (though the idea they would have gone up wouldn't help them in the light of that fire, and they couldn't have went too far with the door ways open unless they just wanted to topple guys out).

The whole thing is pretty ridiculous, but it doesn't stop it from being at least somewhat entertaining. In comparison, the most recent die hard was ridiculous and not very entertaining. Heck, the most recent batman was incredibly ridiculous, but still entertaining.

Click to expand...

I DO grade on a curve. I love plenty of dopey action movies - I don't expect perfect logic or intelligence from them. Cripes, I liked "Armageddon"!But the film has to create a world that - however idiotic it may be in the "real world" sense - allows me to buy into it. That didn't happen here. I felt no sense of connection to the film's universe and constantly felt bludgeoned by stupidity.

I didn't like the characters and I didn't care about the characters. The action was meh at best and didn't excite/interest me at all.

I'm really a pretty easy sell when it comes to big blow-em-up movies - I just thought this one was awful...

Supporter

I enjoyed the movie but the flag flying at the end almost made me laugh outloud. It was like in the last 10 seconds, the movie decided it wanted to be a tribute to America and the people who serve her. When they did the same thing at the end of Saving Private Ryan, I found that to be beautiful and fitting but when you do it at the end of this movie, it just comes off as laughable.

Click to expand...

That was a bookend shot to an earlier one of the flag in tatters after the White House had been overrun.

Supporter

I enjoyed Olympus, it is popcorn action flick and it delivers on what it promises. I’m glad to see this movies is an R and owns its’ R rating completely. I’m really tired of the action movies that are violent yet are sanitized so they can get a PG-13.

Moderator

The body count was ridiculously high, but I'm glad it wasn't too watered down, and made use of its R rating for a "24" meets "Die Hard" at the "White House" yarn. Plenty of carnage and blustery bravado and heroic to fill 2 movies. It seems so much like an action hero vehicle for Gerard Butler, and then I saw that he had producers credits, so that made more sense to me. Even so, for a action-drama film with world ruination as the stakes, it was an entertaining couple of hours.

Supporter

I wonder if people who disliked the film or are calling it ridiculous (which it is, but aren't most action films today?) don't like it because lots of Americans got their butts whooped by North Koreans. I mean, I got "upset" at all the carnage myself, even knowing I was just watching make-believe popcorn entertainment, but I hadn't had this much fun at the movies in a long time. The film brought back memories of wacky one-man-army 80's action films for me and I was totally into it from beginning to end. I didn't buy the young President thing but other than that I thought this was a crazy, violent, bloody good time at the movies. Can't wait for the Blu-ray.

There's another White House-themed action film coming up from Roland Emmerich, the director of the much-ridiculed but fun disaster flick "2012", coming up soon. If you thought "Olympus" was garbage, do yourself a favor and skip that one. Then you don't have to come on here and tear it to pieces. It's just a movie.

This is an okay action movie. I'm a pretty jaded viewer so it was pretty predictable and bought nothing new to the table for me, but I'm not complaining because action movies are a complete shadow of what they used to be and I've come to accept that. I also liked how the movie was not afraid to show patriotism. That's really something we need more of in this day and age. Other than that, the other users have said it all.

I wonder if people who disliked the film or are calling it ridiculous (which it is, but aren't most action films today?) don't like it because lots of Americans got their butts whooped by North Koreans. I mean, I got "upset" at all the carnage myself, even knowing I was just watching make-believe popcorn entertainment, but I hadn't had this much fun at the movies in a long time. The film brought back memories of wacky one-man-army 80's action films for me and I was totally into it from beginning to end. I didn't buy the young President thing but other than that I thought this was a crazy, violent, bloody good time at the movies. Can't wait for the Blu-ray.

There's another White House-themed action film coming up from Roland Emmerich, the director of the much-ridiculed but fun disaster flick "2012", coming up soon. If you thought "Olympus" was garbage, do yourself a favor and skip that one. Then you don't have to come on here and tear it to pieces. It's just a movie.

Click to expand...

I didn't dislike it because of that - I didn't care about that. I disliked it for many other reasons that I've already discussed!

I didn't buy the young President thing but other than that I thought this was a crazy, violent, bloody good time at the movies.

Click to expand...

The young president? Aaron Eckhart just turned 45. Obama was only slightly older when he got into office (48), Clinton was 47, Kennedy was 44. I didn't think there would be a problem with Echart's age!

I'm totally with Colin on this one. I can usually walk away from any movie with some level of satisfaction and enjoyment but this just didn't work for me.

I enjoyed the attack scene, I thought North Korea was a creative enemy (over the expected muslims), and oddly current given recent events. But after that things went downhill.

Bad CG

Bad decisions - "Give him the code to destroy all our missles at once, it's okay, he won't get it from me!" Not once, but TWICE!; Clegg yelling at Banning to stand down after failed helicopter approach because he was screwing everything up, when it was Clegg's doing...

And WTF moments, like Banning knowing access codes a year and a half after he left the White House. Those codes are probably changed monthly in real life, if not weekly.

That and the occasional over-the-top patriotism and swelling orchestral score smacked of a Roland Emmerich wannabe without the budget.

I guess I got frustrated with it early on and it never did anything to redeem itself after that. I'm shocked it's getting a 7.1 on IMDb.